OSU unveils new seafloor mapping of Oregon's nearshore ocean

April 23, 2012

CORVALLIS, Ore. - After more than two years of intense field work and digital cartography, researchers have unveiled new maps of the seafloor off Oregon that cover more than half of the state's territorial waters - a collaborative project that will provide new data for scientists, marine spatial planners, and the fishing industry.

The most immediate benefit will be improved tsunami inundation modeling for the Oregon coast, according to Chris Goldfinger, director of the Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Laboratory at Oregon State University, who led much of the field work.

"Understanding the nature of Oregon's Territorial Sea is critical to sustaining sport and commercial fisheries, coastal tourism, the future of wave energy, and a range of other ocean-derived ecosystem services valued by Oregonians," Goldfinger said. "The most immediate focus, though, is the threat posed by a major tsunami.

"Knowing what lies beneath the surface of coastal waters will allow much more accurate predictions of how a tsunami will propagate as it comes ashore," he added. "We've also found and mapped a number of unknown reefs and other new features we're just starting to investigate, now that the processing work is done."

The mapping project was a collaborative effort of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, David Evans and Associations, and Fugro. It was funded by NOAA and the Oregon Department of State Lands.

Goldfinger said the applications for the data are numerous. Scientists will be better able to match near-shore biological studies with undersea terrain; planners will be able to make better decisions on siting marine reserves and wave energy test beds; and commercial and recreational fishermen will be able to locate reefs, rockpiles and sandy-bottomed areas with greater efficiency.

"Prior to this, most people used nautical charts," Goldfinger said. "They would provide the depth of the water, the distance off shore, and in some cases, a bit about the ocean floor - whether it might be mud, rock or sand. Through this project, we've been able to map more than half of Oregon's state waters in a much more comprehensive way."

Oregon's Territorial Sea extends three nautical miles from the coast and comprises about 950 square nautical miles. The researchers have created numerous different habitat maps covering 55 percent of those waters, which show distinction between fine, medium and coarse sands; display rocky outcrops; and have contour lines, not unlike a terrestrial topographic map.

Some of the mapping was done aboard the Pacific Storm, an OSU ship operated by the university's Marine Mammal Institute. The project also utilized commercial fishing boats during their off-season.